Asmita Mittal
As a child, I often went to the Long Island Children’s Museum in which my favorite exhibit was “Bubbles”. The first time, I let my curiosity run wild as I scampered through the wide variety of exhibits that the museum had to offer. For the innumerable visits after, however, I chose a favorite and refused to move the entire stay. The gigantic, foaming, rainbow-hued mixture was addicting as I experimented with wands that resulted in varied shapes and sizes. I even tested different ingredient ratios to see what combination would produce the perfectly round, iridescent shimmering globe. Although it seems as if it is an unassuming activity that ceases after one blow, in my eyes, there were endless possibilities. As the eager child I was, I steadily progressed in my skills until I had mastered the art of bubble-making. I became known as the “expert”, showing other children the techniques I learned to create the most voluminous, spherical bubbles with the most satisfying pops (splashing some unfortunately positioned workers in the process).
I quickly became acquainted with the concept of trial and error. I was the kid who lacked a sense of when to stop asking questions, but harbored an intense desire for discovery. There were countless times that my overly enthusiastic three-year-old self had to be dragged out of the exhibit, on the verge of bursting into tears. Nevertheless, I would return with more curiosity, as my questions to the workers I had befriended evolved from “Why do bubbles pop?” to “What are bubbles made of?” and “How do they float?”. These questions became the first pieces of evidence of my journey in experiential learning.
When high school began, I went back to the museum—as a volunteer. I was drawn to the bubbles exhibit as I was as a child, but this time watching the children myself. Their enthusiasm reminded me of my own childhood, and how I first fell in love with learning and exploration. Experimenting with bubbles not only taught me to continue questioning, but it also instilled in me a fascination for the origins of children’s early commonsense understanding of the world.
Since then, the genuine inquisitiveness that emboldened me when creating bubbles still shines through in every aspect of my life. I stumbled upon the ECCL’s work in highschool and was instantly captivated as at that point, I did not realize that studying children’s minds was an entire subject in itself! I had so many questions! After reaching out to Dr. Laura Schulz with questions about her research, she told me there was a project that I could help out with. I joined the lab and since then, I have been working as a research intern under Dr. Junyi Chu, who has been an outstanding mentor and guide. I am so grateful for all of the support and opportunities I have received, and I am so excited to continue working with children and discovering more!
In my free time, I love dancing, playing badminton, and weightlifting! ☺
